St. Louis County chief regained control of protestsFERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — As another protest on Ferguson's beleaguered West Florissant Avenue began to turn rowdy, Jon Belmar was among the first to confront protesters. Wearing neither a helmet nor a shield, the St. Louis County police chief strode directly toward demonstrators, telling them to get out of the street and urging calm. "They're not going to take the street tonight," Belmar told an Associated Press reporter standing nearby. "That's no...

Elvis’ private nurse plans to release bookJACKSON, Tenn. — A Tennessee woman who was Elvis Presley’s private nurse is releasing a book about her life around the music legend and his family. The Jackson Sun reports Letetia Henley Kirk lived on the grounds of Graceland — Presley’s Memphis home — with her husband and two young daughters from 1972 to 1983 and often traveled with Presley on tour. Her book, titled “Taking Care of Elvis -- Memories with Elvis as His Private Nurse and Friend,...

Mississippians charged with trying to join Islamic StateJACKSON, Miss. — A federal court hearing was scheduled to continue Tuesday for two Mississippi residents arrested on charges that they were trying to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State militant group. Criminal charges filed Saturday say Jaelyn Delshaun Young, 19, and Muhammad Oda Dakhlalla, 22, were arrested that morning at a regional airport near Columbus, Mississippi. Both are charged with attempting and conspiring to provide material...

Surge in synthetic pot use has dire consequencesAssociated Press NEW YORK — Ignoring the police officers standing down the block and the disingenuous fine print on the foil packet peeking out of his front pocket — “Warning: Don’t Smoke” — a homeless man openly lit up a synthetic marijuana joint and explained why it’s not like the real thing. “It’s a zero-to-60 high,” said the 47-year-old, who gave his name only as J.C. because of his frequent run-ins with the law. “I’ve done plenty of drugs...

Man guilty of assault gets life — in matrimonyAn East Texas man who pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend was sentenced to life — in matrimony. Josten Bundy, 21, pleaded guilty on July 2 to assault with bodily injury for a February fistfight with the ex-boyfriend of Elizabeth Jaynes, 19. Bundy reported the ex was “saying disrespectful things” about Jaynes and admitted he eventually punched the ex in the jaw. Smith County Court-at-Law Judge Randall Rogers asked Bundy d...

GOP senator offers bill on guns, mental healthWASHINGTON — A leading Republican senator proposed a National Rifle Association-backed bill Wednesday that he said would make the federal background check system for gun buyers more effective and bolster programs for treating people with mental illness. The measure drew criticism from groups advocating stricter controls over firearms, who said it doesn’t go far enough and singled out provisions they said would make it easier for some unstable ...

Kraft recalls cheese slices for choking riskThe Kraft Heinz Co. is voluntarily recalling about 36,000 cases of Kraft Singles cheese products because some of the packaging film may stick to the slices and pose a choking hazard. The company said Monday that there have been 10 consumer complaints to date about the packaging, including three reports of consumers choking. The recall applies to 3-lb. and 4-lb. sizes of Kraft Singles American and White American pasteurized prepared cheese prod...

Former mayor’s uncle survives Lafayette shootingFormer Russellville Mayor Raye Turner was at home when she got a phone call no one ever wants to receive. After a man stood up during the premiere of the movie “Trainwreck” at a theater in Lafayette, La., the night of July 23, Turner got a phone call from relatives that her uncle, Dwight “Bo” Ramsay, was one of the nine people wounded. Two women, Jillian Johnson and Mayci Marie Breaux, died as a result of the shooting by John Russell Houser, 5...

Jail releases more footage of Bland before her deathAssociated Press HEMPSTEAD, Texas — Texas authorities on Tuesday released several hours of footage showing Sandra Bland during her three days in jail, saying they wanted to dispel rumors that she was dead before arriving there. Waller County Judge Trey Duhon said such conspiracy theories — including one that Bland’s mug shot was taken after her death — have prompted death threats against county officials. “Because of some of the things that’s ...

New York prison worker pleads guilty in escape of 2 killersAssociated Press PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — A prison worker who was “in over her head” with two inmates convicted of murder tearfully pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of aiding them by smuggling hacksaw blades and other tools to the pair, who broke out and spent three weeks on the run. Joyce Mitchell, an instructor in the tailor shop at the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, wore shackles and prison stripes as she entered the pleas i...

Boy, 8, youngest to get double-hand transplantAssociated Press PHILADELPHIA — An 8-year-old boy who lost his hands and feet to a serious infection has become the youngest patient to receive a double-hand transplant, surgeons said Tuesday. Zion Harvey’s forearms were heavily bandaged but his hands were visible as he flashed some big smiles Tuesday at a hospital news conference. He demonstrated his still-delicate grip and described waking up with new hands as “weird at first, but then good....

Pollard to be freed; US analyst spied for IsraelAssociated Press WASHINGTON — Jonathan Pollard, the former Navy intelligence analyst whose conviction of spying for Israel stoked fierce international passions, has been granted parole and will be released from prison in November after nearly 30 years. The decision to free Pollard from his life sentence, announced Tuesday by his lawyers and then confirmed by the Justice Department, caps an extraordinary espionage case that spurred decades of l...

True-crime author Rule dies at 83Associated Press SEATTLE — True-crime writer Ann Rule, who wrote more than 30 books, including a profile of her former co-worker, serial killer Ted Bundy, has died at age 83. Scott Thompson, a spokesman for CHI Franciscan Health, said Rule died at Highline Medical Center at 10:30 p.m. Sunday. Rule’s daughter, Leslie Rule, said on Facebook that her mother had many health issues, including congestive heart failure. Rule’s first book, “The Strang...

Ex-prison guard accused of sexually abusing inmatesAssociated Press ATLANTA — A former high-ranking corrections officer at a southeast Georgia women’s prison used his position of power to prey on inmates, targeting their vulnerabilities and forcing them to have sex with him, according to investigators. Over at least four years, Edgar Daniel Johnson groped and fondled women and forced some to have sex with him, according to sworn statements filed in warrant applications by an investigator for t...

Shooter’s mental problems didn’t stop gun buyAssociated Press LAFAYETTE, La. — John Russell Houser was deeply troubled long before he shot 11 people in a movie theater in Louisiana, but decades of mental problems didn’t keep him from buying the handgun he used. Despite obvious and public signs of mental illness — most importantly, a Georgia judge’s order committing him to mental health treatment against his will as a danger to himself and others in 2008 — Houser was able to walk into an ...

Fire erupts at swimming poolAssociated Press LAS VEGAS — A fire at a high-rise hotel swimming pool sent large plumes of black smoke high above the Las Vegas Strip but left most guests unscathed Saturday. It took firefighters about 30 minutes to gain control of the blaze that broke out on the 14th floor of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas hotel, Clark County Fire Chief Greg Cassell said. One person was taken to a hospital with smoke inhalation, fire officials said. But nobod...

Police in Oklahoma say motive unclear in 5 fatal stabbingsAssociated Press BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Police in Oklahoma say they have turned to social media posts for clues about the motive of a teenager accused in the stabbing deaths of his parents and three siblings during a late-night attack that left bodies strewn through the family’s home. A booking document filed by police in the Tulsa suburb of Broken Arrow accuses Robert Bever, 18, of five counts of first-degree murder and a count of aggravated a...

Boozman honors Russellville native WyattSPECIAL TO THE COURIER WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) delivered a speech on the Senate floor Friday in honor of the service and sacrifice of Russellville native Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, a U.S. Marine who was shot and killed when a gunman attacked a military facility in Chattanooga, Tenn. Staff Sgt. Wyatt was laid to rest Friday at the Chattanooga National Cemetery. The following are Boozman’s remarks as prepared for delivery: “The...

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SPECIAL TO THE COURIERThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Oldest Chinatown clings to roots amid tech boomSAN FRANCISCO — For a century and a half, San Francisco’s Chinatown, the nation’s oldest, has sheltered waves of immigrants seeking a new life. It’s the birthplace of Chinese America, and to some extent, the broader Asian America that descended from immigration over the Pacific Ocean throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Now, Chinatown faces powerful economic and demographic challenges that could upend its identity as the city undergoes an u...

Army Ranger saves drowning child FORT BENNING, Ga. — On the afternoon of July 11, Army Rangers Spc. Luke Smith, Sgt. Khali Pegues, and Sgt. Brian Miller were cleaning up after hosting a barbecue with members of the 75th Ranger Regiment at a community pool area here when they heard cries for help. A child about 6 years old had fallen into the pool and drowned. “We heard a woman scream and some commotion from another party,” Pegues, Smith’s supervisor, said. “I grabbed Smith to...